RECYCLING is being put under the spotlight by Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority as it launches the region's first 'bin watch' research exercise to reveal the waste habits of Merseysiders.

During November, the authority will be working with the five district councils on Merseyside --Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral - a bid to determine the types of waste, especially recyclable materials, being thrown away.

A special team will be checking and analysing the types of waste in household binsThe samples of waste, which will be taken randomly from normal collections, will be taken to a one of MWDA's recycling centres for analysis.

Councillor John Fletcher, chairman of MWDA, said: "We've launched the survey throughout Merseyside as we were keen to know what types of waste that people were throwing away.

"It's clear, even before the completion of the research, that there is a huge amount that we are still throwing away that we could recycle.

The results of the research are expected later in the year - the research will be repeated over the next year to gauge waste habits during winter, spring and summer.